Episode 10: Issues of Trust
The rest of the school week passed almost disturbingly slow and quietly after that night. Sunset had trouble getting a full night’s rest, her mind mired in thoughts of recent events, and always ready to hear the warning beeps from her Detector that she always kept close to her person. She was starting to learn to sense spiritual pressures with greater skill, but she was a long way off from being able to detect Hollows at any distance without the device to help.
Yet aside from one or two stragglers that Clover dealt with herself, there had been no sign of Hollows. Sunset wasn’t foolish enough to think that they were truly gone, just biding their time. Surely at least that Grand Fisher would return at some point. It’d been made clear that she and her friends were of importance to the Hollows, though the reason why still eluded her. It had to have something to do with the transformations her friends were capable of. So far all but her and Fluttershy had exhibited new powers that came with their ponied up form.
Where those powers came from or even what they were was a matter of speculation. Twilight had moved some of her lab equipment to Discord’s shop so she could study the girls during their training sessions, and Discord hadn’t objected. He also likely knew more than he was letting on. He claimed to not know exactly what these strange abilities Sunset’s friends were showing were, just that he had a few suspicions. He also wasn’t sharing those suppositions, and was just working the girls through various exercises to help them control the powers and use them effectively.
They’d gone to his shop practically every evening after school, and while the girls trained with Discord, Sunset had trained with Clover. It was Friday night, exactly one week since everything had begun, and Sunset was back in that same small canyon in Discord’s odd ‘training room’, with Clover watching her as Sunset formed a glowing blue ball of spirit energy in her palm.
“Good, good,” said Clover, nodding with a encouraging smile, “You’re finally getting how to direct your reiryuku.”
Sunset’s brow beaded with sweat at her concentration, her eyes focused on the glowing ball of light, “Of course I’d get it eventually. Just a matter of practice.”
The sphere of light wavered for a moment and Sunset nearly fell into her old manner of trying to force the ball back into shape, to shove her spirit energy into place, but she took a steady breath, calming herself. Calm focus, not forcing. She had to direct the energy as smoothly as breathing, not like she was driving nails into the ground with a boulder. Her heart rate slowed and the sphere became stable once more.
“Now that you’ve made this much progress I think we can move to the next step,” said Clover, tapping her chin thoughtfully, “Hmm, whichever step that will be.”
“You don’t know?” asked Sunset, blinking in surprise.
“W-well,” Clover cleared her throat, looking away with a faint brush of red coloring her gray cheeks, “I usually have a lesson plan handed to me from actual Academy teachers when I sub for them and the students are usually already much further along with you. I’ve never actually had to train a student entirely from scratch who doesn’t know anything. Not that I’m saying you’re a bad student. You’re not. A bad student I mean! I mean you’re a good student and I’m just having to think a lot more about what lessons to teach and how to teach them and I’m babbling again aren’t I?”
Sunset chuckled, letting the glowing sphere vanish and holding up a placating hand, “Relax Clover, it’s fine. I don’t mind it if you have to take some time to think about what to teach me next. Needed a break anyway. This working with spirit energy works up an appetite fast.”
Clover nodded sagely, “It will do that, yes, and it’s a good sign. The hungrier a person gets while exerting their spirit power the greater their potential.”
That made Sunset think, her eyes gazing upward thoughtfully, “You know, I haven’t asked much about it, because we’ve been so focused on just training, when we’re not dealing with Hollow attacks, but... what is the afterlife like? I mean, it still floors me that you’re technically a ghost, Clover. And you’re talking about getting hungry. Do ghosts actually get hungry?”
For a moment Clover had wide eyes very much akin to the deer confronted by a pack of timberwolves, and she made a quick mumbling noise before saying, louder, “T-that’s kind of hard to explain, and I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to actually tell someone who’s technically still among the living. Then again, I haven’t been told not tell you things either. Hmm, okay about the hunger thing, hmm...”
Sunset watched Clover begin to pace, eyes cast towards the ground in deep thought. Sunset found herself smiling as she sat down on a nearby rock outcropping. In some ways Clover reminded her of Twilight, either version. She tended to overthink things. She waited patiently for Clover’s to get her thoughts straight and continue.
“Think of it like this, the living world and the spirit world mirror each other. The main fundamental difference is in the particles that make up matter, but the way those particles arrange themselves is relatively similar. My spirit body isn’t made up from the same matter that a physical body is, but it has a lot of the same basic forms and functions, including organs, blood, skin, etcetera. Now where hunger is concerned, it usually isn’t an issue. A spirit body usually doesn’t need nourishment, at least not in the same way a physical body does. However if a spirit has lots of power inside it, that power can require nourishment. That’s why Soul Reapers and other spirit entities can get hungry if they exert their power. Normally you’d need food made in the spirit world and from the particles of that world to satisfy that hunger you’re feeling, but if you enter your physical body and eat living world food it should have a similar satiating effect. Understand?”
“Somewhat,” Sunset said, still trying to process it all. “So can... can spirit’s die? Like, die again. You're already technically dead, but you can die twice?”
Clover’s expression gained a solemn cast as she met Sunset’s gaze evenly, “Yes. Think of death as a means of transition from one world to the next. When you of the living world die, your souls are meant to go to the spirit world. When that spirit body dies, it in turns traverses back to the world of the living to be reborn here. An eternal cycle that the Soul Society guards and maintains.”
“And Hollows are a threat to this balance,” Sunset concluded, realizing that any soul that became a Hollow would be taken out of that cycle of death and rebirth.
“Precisely. It is why we fight to purify Hollows, to their souls can rejoin the natural flow of souls from one world to the other.”
“But you told me Soul Society itself has only existed for a few thousand years, right? How was this all regulated before then?”
At that Clover became fidgety, shifting from one foot to the other uncomfortably, “I’ll... I’ll be honest with you, I don’t truly know. History from the period of time prior to the formation of Soul Society is sketchy. All I’ve ever heard or read was that it was a time of chaos, where human souls were hunted freely by Hollows and all was survival of the fittest. Why the flow of souls was still stable back then... well maybe there was some kind of natural equilibrium that existed, but at the expense of the quality of life in the spirit world. Souls constantly having to fear consumption by Hollows, always on the run or in constant states of battle. The Soul Society changed that. The creation of Soul Reapers changed that. Now, souls can rest in peace in the Soul Society without fear, for Soul Reapers protect them.”
“Who’s in charge of it all? How is the Soul Society-” Sunset bean to ask but Clover raised a hand to quiet her.
“You said you were hungry, right? Why don’t you go retrieve your physical body and get some food? There’s a lot of answers you’ll just have to wait for. I can hardly explain everything in one evening,” Clover said, politely enough but Sunset got the feeling that the Soul Reaper was trying to avoid the questions more than anything else. Why that was could just be that Clover wasn’t really ready to answer, or wanted Sunset to focus on her training, but it still left Sunset wondering... was she hiding something?
No, she wouldn’t start getting suspicious. Clover had done nothing but help, and was a friend. That was all there was to it.
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A clash of noise exploded around the rocky terrain as Rainbow Dash’s electrified fist crashed against Applejack’s metal clad leg. Applejack bore the jolt of electricity over her body and her raised leg ignited with thrusting golden flames, pushing harder against Rainbow Dash as the girl beat her wings to put on the pressure.
It ended with both girls being blasted back, flying apart from the force of their collective attacks. Applejack skidded along the ground while Rainbow Dash flew up, Both were covered in sweat, their clothes dirty and in a few places torn, and their breaths came in huge, heaving gasps.
“Ready to... huff... give up yet, AJ?” asked Rainbow Dash with a smirk.
Applejack’s face hardened and she wiped sweat from her brow, not losing her ready combat stance, “Not on yer life, Dash! I’m just gettin’ started!”
This response only deepened Rainbow Dash’s smirk and she pounded her fists together, wings flaring, “Alright! That’s what I like to hear!”
With a single flap of her wings she went into a dive that left a streak of rainbow light and sparkling lightning, a circle of broken air forming around her as she rushed down at Applejack. Applejack prepared for the attack by grinding one of her metallic boots deep into the stone ground to anchor herself, while the golden light flowing from the grooves on her other leg grew more and more intense, a large burst of momentum driving thrust reading to kick as soon as Rainbow Dash got in range.
However just before the two girls could collide again there was a incredibly loud and sharp whistle that made them both halt in place.
“That’s enough my dears! Break time!” called Discord, a coaching whistle in one hand and a gnarled wooden walking stick in the other, “Everyone take an hour for food and tea.”
“Aww come on!” complained Rainbow Dash, “We were just starting to get past the warm up!”
“Dash’s right,” said Applejack, frowning, “I could go fer hours yet.”
Discord shook his head, a knowing look on his face, “You may feel as if you can, but trust me, you’ve pushed your spirit energy as far as it can go without rest. Much further and you’d risk doing yourselves more harm than good. Come now, your friends are already waiting.”
Rainbow Dash landed, stretching her legs while Applejack cracked her neck. Rainbow Dash wasn’t fond of having her fun cut off, but if she was being truthful, if only with herself, she was feeling a bit beat. Summoning her wings filled her with exhilaration and sparring with Applejack only made her feel more energetic, yet at the same time her power burned through her real fast. Annoyingly fast. She wanted to be able to draw more out of herself. She could feel that was more juice inside her, just waiting to be tapped, if only she could dig hard enough for it. But as a girl who’d trained hard for a lot of different sports she also knew that training too hard without the right rest and nourishment to help the body build itself up and recovery was worse than not training at all.
“Alright, alright, we hear you, D-man.”
“D-man?” Discord muttered, shaking his head.
As Rainbow Dash mentally dismissed her wings, letting them fade away, and started to follow the guy towards the other side of the training area where the others would be she noticed that Applejack was dragging her feet, eyes still glaring.
“AJ? C’mon girl, we can get back to training soon.”
Applejack let out a harsh breath, muttering, “I don’t need no break.”
“I know it sucks, but seriously, Discord ain’t far wrong that if we don’t rest, we’ll just end up hurting ourselves,” said Rainbow Dash, putting a hand on Applejack’s shoulder, only to blink in surprise as the other girl threw her hand off. “Whoa there AJ? What gives?”
Applejack stared at the hand she’d just used to bat aside Rainbow Dash’s as if she didn’t know what it was, then shook her head, “I... I don’t wanna talk ‘bout it Dash. I’m just... dealin’ with some things right now an’ I just wanna get strong as I can, fast as I can.”
Rainbow Dash saw a fierce glint of anger flashing through Applejack’s eyes, the farmgirl whispering, but more than loud enough for Rainbow Dash to hear, “He ain’t gonna git away from me a second time.”
For a moment Rainbow Dash tried to think of something to say, but her mind just drew a blank. She’d heard the basic story of what had happened at Applejack’s farm and knew what Grand Fisher had done to Applejack’s parents. She wasn’t about to pretend she understood what her friend was going through, but it was worrying, seeing that look in Applejack’s eyes. Not that she didn’t think Grand Fisher deserved the worst thrashing that could come his way, and was planning on being there right beside Applejack to help deliver it... but not if the cost was Applejack getting herself hurt or... or worse in the process.
“Hey, you will get stronger, AJ,” Rainbow Dash said, “We all will, and when we do, there won’t be a Hollow this side of creation that’ll ever wanna mess with our town or our families again. We just got to not just train hard, but train smart, you feel me?”
“...Yeah, I hear ya, it’s just,” Applejack was staring at the ground, her entire body tense, “I ain’t sure who ta trust no more.”
Rainbow Dash cocked her head, confused, “Trust? What are you talking about?”
Applejack took of her stetson for a moment, running a hand through her hair, “Just somethin’ I was talkin’ with Granny ‘bout after what happened. Ain’t wantin’ ta repeat any o’ it, especially with how tight Sunset’s gettin’ with Clover.”
“AJ, you’re not making a lot of sense here. What’s Clover got to do with anything?”
“Not Clover specific like. She seems a good sort,” said Applejack, green eyes filled with uncertainty, “It’s just the folk she works for I ain’t so sure ‘bout now.”
At Rainbow Dash’s continued gaze of bewilderment Applejack just shook her head and replaced her stetson back on her head, “Nevermind. Ain’t no point dwellin’ on it ‘till I know more. C’mon, let’s git goin’.”
Rainbow Dash was still more than a little confused over what had Applejack so worked up. Some kind of conversation she’d had with Granny Smith? About what? Well, Rainbow Dash wasn’t one to sweat the details. She didn’t really trust Discord all that much yet, but since he was letting them use this sweet training area she was willing to let it all chill and not worry about it too much. But now Applejack was acting weird. It didn’t sit right with Rainbow Dash, but she’d let it go for now. She just gave her friend a comforting punch on the shoulder and the pair walked off to go join the other girls.
Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were all seated around a large picnic table with white and green checker patterns that Discord had apparently had brought down and set up. There were ice coolers set up and open with juice bottles and cold sandwiches, and next to the table was a large portable stove that had a pot of tea boiling on it. There were some lawn chairs set up nearby too, and Rainbow Dash blinked at seeing the sirens there, the three girls... well, two girls and one doll, were arguing. No surprise there.
“I don’t want to be in even more debt than we already are!” Adagio was shouting, “There has to be another way, you’re just not thinking hard enough.”
“Wow, that’s the first time you’ve ever accused Sonata of thinking at all,” quipped Aria.
“Grr, not now Aria! If you don’t have anything useful to say, keep it zipped!” growled Adagio, to which Aria stood up and snatched the doll out of the air, “H-hey, let me go!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, did the plush toy try to talk back to me?” asked Aria with false sweetness while squeezing Adagio.
Nearby Sonata looked between her two sisters while chewing her lower lip, “Can we, y’know, not do this? Like, seriously this is the most not useful thing we can be doing right now. All I’m trying to say Dagie is that we can’t keep up our old jobs, and we can’t really keep our old apartment either, so why not move in with Mr. Discord and work here full time? He even offered to pay us actual money!”
“Why not!? I’ll tell you why not! He’s a untrustworthy slave driver that has us do the dumbest chores around here and then tosses us into the middle of dangerous situations with only a video camera for protection, that’s why!” cried Adagio, “What’ll we do if we get caught up in another crazy battle and, oh, I don’t know, one of us dies!? You want that, Sonata?”
“Uhhhhhh...” Sonata scratched her head, eyes almost going cross.
“That was a rhetorical question!” shouted Adagio.
“Oh. I’m terrible at answering those,” said Sonata, and Adagio’s scream of frustration could probably been heard halfway across the training area.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack took seats among their friends, and she glanced at Rarity, jerking a thumb in the siren’s direction, “They been at it for long?”
“Only since the entirety of our stay here,” sighed Rarity. Her own clothes were a bit torn as well, Rainbow Dash noticed, and while Rarity had clearly tried to straighten her hair out and freshen up a bit there were definitely some strands out of place and a few bits of dirt here and there. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, didn’t look that tired, but did have a bit of a rattled look about her.
“How’d sparring with Pink’s crazy alter ego go?” asked Rainbow Dash casually as she snatched up a bottle of orange juice and a sandwich. Rarity shuddered, as if a ice cube had slid down her back.
“I cannot believe Pinkie Pie of all people has manifested such a terrible and brutish individual as her power,” Rarity said, lips pressed tightly in a thin frown, “Why, she tried to bite my hand off!”
“Oh she did not,” said Pinkie Pie, “You’re exaggerating, Rarity! Pinkamena just gave your hand a bit of a lick, that’s all. Just to see what you tasted like.”
All the girls stared at Pinkie Pie for a moment, and she smiled sheepishly, laughing awkwardly, “She didn’t actually bite Rarity.”
“But she tried to!” said Rarity, “Several times. With that... that horrific way her mouth grows. And other parts of her. I have never before seen a foot grow a dozen sharp toothed mouths before and now that I have I’m certain I’ll have nightmares of it for weeks to come!”
“W-well you’re power’s kinda weird too,” said Pinkie Pie defensively, “I mean, you bleed out a sword and dress, then make more blood crystal thingies! You’re basically covering yourself in your own blood then stabbing things with more blood. That’s pretty creepy too.”
Rarity turned her head high and made a small ‘harumph’ noise before saying, “My power is elegant, and requires creativity. Besides its not really blood, just... Mr. Discord, how did you explain it again?”
Discord, who wa pouring cups of tea for everyone, didn’t even look up from what he was doing as he said, “Your powers manifest using a part of yourselves as the catalyst. In your case, Miss Rarity, your blood is the catalyst, but the actual weapon, dress, and crystals are extensions of that catalyst rather than the actual blood itself. Its the same for all of you. Even the lovely Miss Pinkamena is, in the end, just a construct, an extension of a part of Miss Pie.”
“What part, exactly?” asked Rainbow Dash, curious.
“At a guess, I’d say a suppressed part of her ego, perhaps her id,” said Discord, shrugging, “Only with time can I ascertain more about the powers being exhibited by you fine young ladies. The more you train, the more of your powers will become clear to me, I think.”
“Hey guys,” said Sunset, arriving alongside Clover. Sunset was back in her physical body, Rainbow Dash saw, but as usually still had her Zanpaktou sheathed at her waist. It was starting to become an almost natural part of Sunset’s attire and Rainbow Dash was getting used to seeing her with it. Sunset looked around, eyes searching.
“Where’s Twilight?”
A good question. Rainbow Dash hadn't even noticed the egghead wasn’t at the table.
“Ah, Miss Sparkle went back to the school briefly,” said Discord, setting the tea cups along the table in front of each girl, even as Clover and Sunset took seats, “There was some equipment there she wanted to bring to her field lab here to help with an experiment she wishes to try concerning you, Miss Sunset.”
“Me? What kind of experiment?” Sunset asked, almost sounding alarmed. Rainbow Dash snickered, recalling the way Sunset had once experimented on her and the rest of the girls when she’d been trying to figure out how the friendship magic worked. A bit of turnabout would be fun to watch to see the Sunset getting a bit of her own medicine.
“She didn’t mention details, only it involved your Zanpaktou and your connection to it,” Discord said, glancing over at the sirens, “Are you girls joining our picnic or are you going to continue glaring at one another?”
The sirens exchanged looks, Aria making a disgusted face while Adagio floated away with a grimace. Only Sonata answered, “We’ll go grab our own lunch, boss.”
“Fair enough I suppose. Very well, go take your lunch where you will,” said Discord, waving a hand. As the sirens went to go Sunset stood.
“Wait, I’ll come too.”
“Uh... what?” asked Aria, while Adagio just turned and glared.
“Who said you could come!?”
Sunset blanched at the hostility, but Sonata stepped in, holding up her hands peaceably, “Hey now, what’s the harm in her coming along?”
“Why does she even want to?” asked Aria with eyes narrowed.
“I, uh, don’t like meat,” said Sunset, pointing at the sandwiches, not a one of which lacked ham, or turkey, or roast beef. “Wherever you’re going I can probably snag a salad or something.”
For a moment the sirens were silent, or rather the pair of Adagio and Aria gazed with glowers at the smiling Sonata, and after a moment Aria just groaned, “Fine.”
Adagio still looked half ready to argue, but as her two sisters already began to make for the exit, Sunset following behind with an apologetic shrug, the plush doll just groaned and shook her head, floating along behind the group.
“Well,” said Rainbow Dash, “That’s going to be an awkward snack run.”
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“So, the ghost hunting thing is going better than bad, but worse than perfect?” Spike asked casually as he helped Twilight load her backpack by retrieving various items from the tables she needed. Twilight Sparkle had a notebook in hand with a checklist she was going down, marking off all the items in turn as they were packed neatly into her bag. She tried to keep a calm and unworried look on her face.
“I didn’t say that precisely, Spike. I said things were going relatively well but there were a many matters still unresolved.”
Spike rolled his eyes, scratching behind one of his floppy green ears with a back paw, “Right, that's not vague at all.”
“Where you always this snarky or is it only after you gained the magical ability to talk?”
“I dunno, did I have a snarky bark, back in the day?”
Twilight sighed, but smiled, actually kind of enjoying the levity. It helped ease the tension that had been rising up inside her since the start of this whole affair with Soul Reapers and Hollows. While she was learning to be at ease with her new friends, Spike had been her sole real companion and friend beside her brother for a very long time. While it was still a little strange to have him talking, especially because at times he talked perhaps a little too much, she did appreciate being able to communicate with him like this. Snarky or not he was a supportive, comforting presence in her life, especially now when so much felt uncertain.
“Anyway, what I meant by what I said is that while it's good that my friends are gaining new abilities that will help them protect themselves and the city, it still remains we don’t really know much about what’s going on or why. I feel like... like we’re just dipping our toes in the shallow side of the pool, but it won’t be long before we reach deep water, where who knows what lurks beneath the surface?”
“Ominous,” said Spike, glancing at the backpack, “That why you’re stepping up your research? Trying to figure out what’s hiding beneath the water?”
“Precisely. I don’t like not knowing. There’s too much we don’t understand about all of this. Hollows, Soul Reapers, Zanpaktou, my friends strange new powers, Discord and his connection to it all... and that strange arrow from the other night.”
“You mean that blue one that saved you from that Hollow? You still have no idea who did that?” asked Spike, “Didn’t that Discord guy have any ideas? You were talking like he was some dude who was in the know.”
“We mentioned it, but he didn’t comment on it other than to strike that scraggly beard of his and go ‘hmmm’,” Twilight stroked her chin and made an enigmatic humming sound in imitation. “Then he just brushed it off and had us start training. Well, had the other girls start straining. Me and Fluttershy just sort of hung around, watching.”
There must have been some frustration coming out in her voice as she felt Spike bump her leg playfully, “Hey, cheer up. You’ve been helping the girls out on the science end of things. You built those cool Detectors they need to find Hollows, right?”
“Y-yeah, I know. I just want to be able to do more. If I can just make some headway on understanding how these powers work, or how Sunset bonded with her Zanpaktou, maybe I can figure out a way to help out even more,” said Twilight, somewhat hesitantly before adding, “Assuming I don’t just screw up, absorb a bunch of random magic I don’t understand, and turn into a crazy eldritch raven demon.”
“Hey, if makes you feel any better, I thought you looked kinda cool when you went all dark queen of magic on us.” Spike said with a grin, to which Twilight gave him a rueful smile, picking him up and hugging him tight.
“Even so, thanks for helping me snap out of it.”
“Well, you know, man’s best friend and all that. Or girl’s, in this case,” said Spike, giving her a quick lick on the cheek, causing Twilight to giggle.
“Okay, okay, enough of that. Let’s get back to the shop. I want to try a new idea I had for analyzing Sunset’s sword that might help me understand just how she’s connected to it.”
She set Spike down, the dog happily walking ahead of her while she snatched up her backpack and headed out of the school lab. The hallways were all empty this time of evening, quiet save for the clack of her shoes on the tiles as she went. She didn’t even see Vice Principal Luna until the woman stepped out from a side hallway like a shadow detaching from the gloom of the darker hall.
“Ah, Twilight Sparkle, I wanted to talk to you,” said the Vice Principal in her tone that always sounded a shade too naturally strict for its own good.
“Wha!” Twilight nearly jumped in surprise, “O-oh! Vice Principal Luna. Um, hello?” she gave a sheepish wave, “Can I help you with something?”
“Perhaps,” said Luna, “I don’t mean to pry, but Principal Celestia and I have both noticed a certain pattern of behavior from you and your friends. We don’t wish to impose, but you are our students and your safety as well as that of the school’s is our highest priority besides your education. That said, is there anything you’d like to tell us? Leaving at the same time each evening, and a pattern of recent injuries we’ve noticed... is there another magical threat that has arisen?”
It still seemed strange to Twilight that most of Canterlot High's student body and almost all of its staff were not only aware of the magical events that had occurred around their school, but seemed largely accepting of it all without getting any higher authorities in the city or larger government involved. It was as if all the school was under some unspoken agreement just to keep such things to themselves. What happened at Canterlot High, stayed at Canterlot High. Only perhaps this time it couldn’t be contained, as the Hollow issue threatened the entire city.
Still, if Sunset hadn’t gone to the Principal or Vice Principal yet, perhaps Twilight shouldn’t make any hasty decisions either. She cleared her throat, trying to look as innocent as possible.
“Uh, well, n-not really. I mean, nothing that you need to be worried about Vice Principal Luna. Nope. The girls and I are just fine. Yup. So... um, can I go?”
Luna’s eyebrow rose, “I wasn’t intending to hold you. Of course you’re free to go. Celestia and I were just... curious. I’m certain that, if it's an important enough matter, you’ll keep us informed?”
“Yes, yes of course!” Twilight said, already rapidly backing away and then turning to walk away briskly, “Have a good night, Vice Principal!”
“...Yes, to you as well,” said Luna, watching Twilight the entire time until the girl turned a hallway corner out of sight.
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Unbeknownst to Twilight after she was gone another shadow emerged from the side hallway, Principal Celestia coming to stand beside her sister with a worried frown.
“Should we act, Tia?” asked Luna, “Before they get more than just scrapes and bruises?”
Celestia shook her head, eyes worried but firm, “We don’t have permission to do anything yet, and can’t afford to while the portal to the other reality requires protecting. We must have some faith in those girls for now. They haven’t let us down yet.”
“But if the rest of the Captains decide that they cannot allow them to move freely?” pressed Luna, “Even the Captain Commander can’t overturn it if the Central 46 are convinced by the other Captains that the girls are too dangerous to be left to their own devices.”
Luna’s nose wrinkled, “It doesn’t help that they’re being trained by him of all people.”
“He is an accepted ally of convenience, though you are right, sister, that his reputation is doing those girls no favors,” Celestia said with a slow sigh, crossing her arms in contemplation, “If worse comes to worst, we shall do what we must to keep them safe. There’s precious little we can do now, as it is. Orders are orders.”
Luna gave a quick snort, “As if you were ever good at following orders, Tia.”
“I have no idea what you mean, Lulu,” said Celestia with a smirk.
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“You’re certain it was her?” asked Shining Armor, voice heavy like stone, sitting at a large dining table in one of the more cavernous rooms of his family's estate as he gazed at a girl standing to the side of the table who he’d only recently let in because she’d claimed to have information he’d want to hear. “There isn’t any doubt?”
The girl standing straight and unconcerned before him had a flat look on her face, her tone a straightforward one that lacked any deceit, “If I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have bothered coming to tell you about it. It was definitely Twilight Sparkle, fighting Hollows alongside another student from her school and another woman I didn’t recognize. To be more accurate Twilight wasn’t actually fighting so much as just trying to assist, with mixed results. She didn’t even try to dodge the Hollow I had to shoot.”
Of average height and somewhat plain appearance, the girl’s straight white on icy blue hair done up in pigtails and wearing a pair of orange glasses along with her Crystal Prep uniform of severe violet shades, Sugarcoat wouldn’t have stood out much in a crowd if not for her unusually blunt demeanor. If he wasn’t fairly aware of her tendency towards frank, often unsolicited honesty, Shining Armor might have doubted her more.
As it was her story of walking home from a late night at the local library only to run across the presence of Hollows attacking humans, including his sister and one of her friend’s family, was something Shining Armor had to believe was true, but was having difficulty knowing what to make of it.
I knew Twily was hiding something, but this!? If she’d only kept her nose out of this business for another year I could have convinced the others she wasn’t needed. As soon as they know... as soon as His Majesty hears of this, there won’t be anything I can do. They’ll demand she be brought into the fold, sooner rather than later.Damn, damn, damn...
“Look I just did what I felt my duty was in reporting to you, Shining Armor,” said Sugarcoat, “After what happened at the school during the Friendship Games I didn’t want to leave any of those girls in harm’s way and decided not to go over your head to anybody higher up on the food chain, either.”
Shining Armor’s eyes narrowed slightly, “You’re saying no one else knows about this yet?”
“Just you and just me” said Sugarcoat, “As far as I’m concerned whether it stays that way is entirely up to you. I did my part by saving Twilight from a tight spot. I’m a trainee, and graduation both from Crystal Prep and my training here is coming up soon and I don’t want that screwed up by some weird internal politics involving your sister. Twilight might not be a friend but what Cinch did to her was not acceptable by my standards, so it wasn’t too much risk to shoot a quick arrow and call it a night, if it meant she didn’t get chewed on by a Hollow.”
Slowly Shining Armor nodded, standing up from the table, “Cinch... is being dealt with, for that unapproved stunt with foreign magic. I still don’t know what she thought she was accomplishing, but it's up to higher authorities than me to decide what to do with her. For saving Twilight, you have my thanks, and to be as frank as you are; I owe you one.”
Sugarcoat’s face didn’t change save for the smallest tick of a half-smile, “I do like favors. I’ll remember that for when it becomes useful. Before I go, do you mind if I ask what you intend to do about your sister?”
“I don’t mind the question, but why ask? Like you said, the two of you aren’t friends.”
There was a long pause from Sugarcoat, her eyes as blank as the rest of her face, but finally she said, “There’s been a certain amount of interest in her from several of my fellow trainees, since she transferred out of Crystal Prep. People wondering if she’ll be brought into the fold like we were after the Friendship Games. If we were selected for our potential, then logically Twilight Sparkle would also have been selected... yet she hasn’t been there for any of the training we’ve undergone. The only conclusion I could come to was that someone didn’t want her there, and seeing you now, I can see why. What I’m wondering now is, how long are you going to try to keep the truth from her?”
“Why do you care?”
“...Because you can’t keep this secret forever, especially now that she’s already gotten herself involved from the other end,” said Sugarcoat. With a shrug she turned to leave, striding from the dining room and only pausing long enough at the door to say, “Of course it’s none of my business what you decide to do, but if I were you, I’d just get it over with now and tell her everything. Less painful, that way. Simpler. Some people just don’t get how much easier it is to tell the truth, even when it’s not pleasant.”
After she was gone Shining Armor remained there, staring at the door, frowning, “Simpler, huh? Easy for you to say, she’s not your sister.”
----------
Sunset had made the resolution that if she ever did end up returning to Equestria one of the idea’s from the human world that she’d see carried over were twenty-four hour convenience stores. She couldn’t count the number of late study sessions back home that would’ve gone better for having quick, all night access to snacks and caffeine.
With a plastic bag filled with pre-packaged salad, a pair of apples, some low-fat chips, and a bottled frappuccino. Her stomach was already growling at her to dig in but she wanted to wait until she got back to the training area. The sirens were still in the store and a quick glance through the window told her that the trio were still grabbing up an assortment of foods. Adagio was zipped up inside Sonata’s dark blue hoodie, doing her best impression of an actual plush doll while still giving stink eyes towards Sunset.
How long is she going to keep glaring at me? Not everything that’s gone wrong for her has been my fault. Only some of it...
She still felt guilty for Adagio’s present state. If she’d been stronger she could have stopped that Hollow in time to prevent the siren from being hurt. She had to mentally check herself from reaching for her Zanpaktou. She’d worked out a way to keep it mostly hidden in public. Since the sword itself was invisible to normal eyes she could let the handle and hilt stick out over her shoulder without it being noticed. The sheath Rarity had made could be hidden underneath her jacket, strapped to her back with a cloth cord. It was a little awkward at first but she was getting used to it.
Once the sirens were done they came marching out of the store, both Sonata and Aria carrying multiple bags. At Sunset’s look Aria looked back with a challenging expression. “What?”
“You girls are going to eat all of that?” Sunset asked. They had at least six bags filled to the brim with food and drinks.
Sonata blinked innocently, “Well, yeah, duh. Why else would we have bought it?”
“What business is it of yours what we eat?” muttered Adagio, sulking out of the front of Sonata’s hoodie.
“Sorry, just trying to make conversation,” said Sunset, as they got walking down the sidewalk, “Forget I said anything.”
“That won’t be hard,” said Adagio.
“Look, what’s your problem with me?” asked Sunset.
“Oh, I don’t know, might have something to do with how you’ve ruined our lives?” shot back Adagio, while Aria nodded in rare agreement with the other siren.
Even Sonata had some of her bubbly expression drained as she said, “Life has been pretty rough since we tried to take over the school with our magical mind control powers and got our gems blasted into itty bitty pieces by a giant energy beam which you sang into existence. Oh, then Dagie got soul punched by a horrible ghost monster that you lead right to us. Huh, now that I think about it a lot of bad stuff happens to us whenever we’re around you. Weird, right?”
Sunset sighed, hunching her shoulders slightly as if the words were putting a weight on her, “Yeah, okay, so sure I’ll admit I had a hand in some of the bad stuff that’s been happening, but you guys are still the ones that tried to mind control the school. What did you expect, for us to just lay down and take it?”
“Would’ve been an improvement to that school,” muttered Aria.
“I don’t even care about that dumb school and its students,” said Adagio with a scathing heat in her voice, “I just wanted to get enough power to either make life in this miserable world bearable, or get us home.”
“You mean Equestria?” asked Sunset.
“No, the smelly apartment we barely can afford with loud neighbors and the faint smell of dead rat. Of course I mean Equestria!” shouted Adagio. “Do you know any other worlds that aren’t infected with hairless monkey people!?”
Sunset’s jaw set tightly, anger rising inside her, past her guilt and the little goodwill she’d managed to gain towards the sirens, “A lot of those ‘hairless monkey people’ are my friends. They could’ve been your friends too if you weren’t so obsessed with controlling them for your own selfish reasons! If you’d just come to the school in friendship and eventually opened up about yourselves you might already be home instead of where you are now!”
Adagio’s eyes rolled, sneering, “Oh, I suppose you're ‘power of friendship’ would’ve magically zapped us home instead of destroying the core of our power if only we’d learned to be friends, hmm?”
“No, but I might have told you about the portal to Equestria that any of you could’ve stepped through at any time you wanted to go home,” snapped Sunset, “Oh, but now that you’re stuck in a plushie doll’s body while your real one is sitting in cold storage you’re kind of stuck here, aren’t you? Too bad you choose to try enslaving my friends with magic instead of just making friends with us instead. Oh, only now even if you do get your body back, you’re technically guilty of committing assault on the Princess of Friendship, who by the by controls who comes in and out of that portal. I hope you’re good at apologies because I think you’re going to have to work up one heck of an impressive one to convince Princess Twilight to ever let you go home now!”
She was breathing hard by the end of her tirade, face flushed, the anger subsiding now that she’d given it vent... but she was now staring at a trio of sirens who were looking back at her with looks that ranged from shock to despair.
“You’re saying there’s a way for us to go home...?” Sonata asked, shaking slightly, “But that Princess chick won’t let us?”
“I didn’t say that, specifically,” said Sunset, holding up her hands, “I just said that you might have to do some convincing with her, is all.”
“Sounded more like you said she’d never let us go home, and she controls this portal, right?” said Aria darkly, “As if she’d ever forgive us for what we did, so our only way back might as well be a locked gate!”
Adagio was disturbingly quiet, not saying anything, and just starring at Sunset. No, past Sunset. It was like Adagio wasn’t looking at anything at all, just staring blankly. “ with a slow, shuddering breath Sunset said, “Look, I got angry and probably exaggerated just now. Princess Twilight, she’s a really good pony. She was willing to forgive me after I messed up big time, so if you’re honestly sorry for what you did and can tell her that, she’d probably be willing to let the past by the past. You could still go home, if you wanted.”
“Adagio still needs to be in her real body for that,” said Aria, “It’ll be a few more weeks, at least.”
“But then we can go home, right?” sai Sonata, smiling, “Back to Equestria? Back to the ocean?”
Sunset nodded, “I’m sure of it. Yeah, I mean, if you want I could even talk to Princess Twilight for you... assuming you three won’t backslide into being mind controlling witches again.”
“Even if we do end up going home, our gems are still gone,” said Aria, voice filled with doubt and disgust, “I don’t even know if we can survive transforming back into real sirens, without those. Could be that being stuck as this damn monkey bodies is the only thing keeping us alive.”
“It's worth a shot, isn’t it?” said Sonata, “I wanna try anyway.”
Adagio was still being silent and it was starting to bother Sunset. Somehow the eldest siren’s shouting and anger was a hundred times easier to bear than her silence and unblinking eyes. By now they’d made their way back to the alleyway leading to the shop and Sunset wanted to give the sirens something positive to think about, “Like I said, I’ll talk to Twilight. She’s pretty smart and has access to more lore than anypony in Equestria. She can probably figure out if it’s safe for you three to go through the portal before you have to try it out.”
“Thanks!” said Sonata, “You know for a loudmouth hothead you’re kind of nice!”
“...Uh, thanks,” said Sunset as she used her pass to open up the barrier around the shop. As they entered the yard in front of the shop she paused, noticing that she and the sirens weren’t alone.
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that odd gray cat that had been hanging around the shop lately, stretched out on the front steps and watching them with curious eyes, but also waiting for them was a man standing on the walkway to the front of the shop, Clover nearby looking both different and worries. The man was wearing a similar black robed uniform to Clover’s, with a Zanpaktou with a blue silk wrapped hilt and square cross-guard at his side. The only difference between his clothing and Clover’s was that his left arm was wood badge bound to the arm with white cloth. On the badge was a symbol, one that Sunset recognized as the Japanese kanji for the number six. The man himself was tall and slim shouldered, and carried himself with a dignified air. His skin was pale white, much like Rarity’s, and he had a smoothly cut set of wavy blue hair, and a neatly trimmed moustache. Oddly, he wore a monocle on his right eye.
When the man saw Sunset and the sirens he smiled politely, speaking with an accent that sounded faintly Canterlot's to her ears. “Ah, Miss Sunset, excellent. I’m happy to make the acquaintance of the young lady that’s caused such a stir. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lieutenant Fancy Pants of the Sixth Division. I am here to evaluate you.”
----------
Twilight was nearly back to the shop. The alley that’d lead to Discord’s shop was just a few streets away, the crowds fairly sparse for a Friday evening. Spike walked along next to her, occasionally scratching at the leash her wore.
“Sorry,” Twilight said in a whispering tone she knew Spike would hear easily but might keep passers by from noticing she was talking to her dog, “Leash laws.”
Spike just gave an understanding if still somewhat irritated look. Then he paused, sniffing the air, causing Twilight to halt as well. She was just at the next street crossing, the light still having not changed over as cars passed by.
“Spike, what’s wrong/”
The dog glanced around to make sure there weren’t any people nearby, then said, “Thought I smelled your brother for a second.”
“Shining?” Twilight blinked, and turned to look, but saw nothing. “Are you sure?”
Spike’s frown was almost too human on his canine features, his nose still twitching, “I guess not. Coulda swore it was...”
Twilight knelt down, giving Spike a comforting pet on the head, “Well maybe he’s out on the town with Cadence. It’s Friday night, after all.”
“Actually, Cadence is working late at the school tonight,” said Shining Armor, who was suddenly behind her. Twilight nearly jumped out of her shoes, whirling about in surprise, but Shining Armor just smiled in a brotherly fashion, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Twilight blinked a few times, slowly adjusting her glasses and looking around Shining Armor, as if trying to see where he’d come from. She didn’t see any convenient hiding places he could have been skulking in. How had he just appeared out of nowhere like that? Still, it was her brother, so she quickly dismissed her unease and smiled back, giving him a quick hug. Spike was just sitting there, sniffing the air, and frowning slightly.
“Hey Shining! Um, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked.
His smiling was disarming, but she detected a hint of strain in it as he put a hand on her shoulder, “I heard from some of the kids are your school that you and your friends have been coming downtown a lot lately, so I thought I’d spot you along the main streets easily enough.”
A light of seriousness appeared in his eyes, his tone turning strangely firm, and his hand on her shoulder grew a shade tighter, “Twilight, we need to talk.”